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The Ohio Department of Health has confirmed a second bat infected with rabies in Delaware County
this spring, alarming some residents and prompting health advisories.

“They’re concerned. It’s the second case in a month,” said Traci Whittaker, spokeswoman for the
Delaware General Health District. Its Facebook page has fielded more than 30 comments and
questions.

The first bat was found on April 29 on Granville Street in Sunbury. The second was found dead a
week ago on N. Franklin Street in Delaware.

Statewide, five rabid bats have been found this year. Reports typically increase in warmer
weather when bats are active and feeding and come in contact with people, officials said.

If contact occurs, “a series of vaccinations is shown to be 100 percent effective in preventing
someone exposed to the virus from getting rabies,” said Dr. Joanne Midla, a state public-health
veterinarian. Once established, rabies, which affects the central nervous system, is always fatal.
Ohio’s last rabies fatality occurred in the 1970s.

Up to 5 percent of all Ohio bats have the rabies virus. Bats typically account for more than 80
percent of rabies cases in Ohio because of a genetic strain of rabies that prefers bats.

The health district advises residents to seek medical attention if they find a bat near children
or mentally impaired or intoxicated people, even if the person has not been bitten.

The Ohio Department of Health tests 3,500 to 4,000 animals annually for rabies at its
Reynoldsburg labs, said Kevin Sohner, health laboratory supervisor.

People who find animals in distress should avoid contact and have their pets’ vaccinations
updated, officials advise.

Caution should be used when bats are found inside. Delaware health officials recommend wearing
heavy gloves and trapping the animals in a box or can.

The last time rabid bats were found in Delaware County was four years ago, when four cases were
reported, the state health department said. There were five cases in Franklin County last year, six
in 2011 and two in 2009.

For more information, contact the health district offices at 740-368-1700 or
DelawareHealth.org.